On the Map

The Hidden Costs of Commercial Fishing: Sustaining Economies and Ecosystems

Image of a trawler boat sailing near Malta. Source: Peter Grima

Geography In The News logoGeography in the News is an educational series offered by the American Association of Geographers for teachers and students in all subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article. 

By Adeti Afe

Fishing has been a part of human life for thousands of years, helping to feed societies while maintaining a balance in marine ecosystems. Traditional fishing usually keeps fish populations in check. But now, methods for industrial-level commercial fishing can cause serious harm to marine ecosystems. Scientists warn that some of the world’s most important fishing areas and habitats could be permanently damaged due to issues like overfishing, habitat destruction, and the problems caused by aquaculture.

Image of a static map showing fish habitats off the East and Gulf Coasts, as well as in the Caribbean Sea. Credit: NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains Fishmapper, an interactive mapping tool for examining important habitats for managed fish populations worldwide. Credit: NOAA

 

Overfishing disrupts the balance of marine life. When certain fish populations decline, predators lose their prey, and smaller fish can overpopulate. This creates even more problems in the ecosystem. Coral reefs, for instance, rely on fish to control the growth of algae. Without enough fish, algae can grow uncontrollably, killing the reef’s ecosystem.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that more than one-third of global fisheries are overfished. Over the past 50 years, the number of overfished areas has tripled. A major factor contributing to this is bycatch, which is the unintentional capture of animals like sea turtles, dolphins, and sharks in fishing nets. Millions of animals are killed this way each year, adding to the damage in already struggling ecosystems. Sea turtles are often caught unintentionally by getting tangled in nets and are harmed before they can be freed. Similarly, endangered species such as certain whales and dolphins suffer high mortality rates due to poor fishing practices. Bycatch damages the biodiversity necessary for healthy ecosystems.

Image of a trawler boat sailing near Malta. Source: Peter Grima
A trawler in Malta. Trawlers drag nets through the sea, either above the sea floor or along the sea floor. This method of fishing is indiscriminate and has negative impacts on sea ecologies. It is banned in many areas. Source: Peter Grima

 

The methods used in industrial fishing often cause harm to underwater habitats. Bottom trawling, for example, involves dragging heavy nets along the seafloor. While effective at capturing fish, this practice devastates coral reefs and seagrass beds, which are essential habitats for many marine species.

The Complex World of Fish Farming

To meet the growing global demand for seafood, many businesses have turned to aquaculture, also known as fish farming. On the surface, aquaculture appears to be a solution to overfishing, but it introduces its own set of environmental and ethical concerns. Farmed fish are often raised in overcrowded enclosures, which can lead to water pollution from waste.

Aquaculture relies heavily on fishmeal and fish oil derived from wild-caught fish, which means it continues to put pressure on already overfished stocks. Escaped farmed fish can further disrupt ecosystems by competing with native species for resources or introducing genetic and behavioral differences that harm wild populations.

Finding a Better Way

The negative effects of commercial fishing extend beyond the environment, impacting human communities. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing increases the problem. Operating outside the bounds of international and local laws, IUU fishing often targets the waters of vulnerable nations. This practice robs local fishers of their resources and disrupts efforts to maintain sustainable fishing practices.

Several actionable steps can mitigate the damage caused by commercial fishing. Stricter regulations on fish catch limits and the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) can help ecosystems recover and maintain biodiversity. MPAs provide safe zones where marine life can thrive without the pressure of fishing.

Technological advancements can also play a role by including selective fishing gear that can reduce bycatch. Consumers can make a difference by choosing sustainably sourced seafood, certified by organizations such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Commercial fishing is essential for feeding millions of people around the world, but it comes at a cost. Our oceans, and the communities that depend on them, are under serious pressure from overfishing, habitat destruction, bycatch, and unsustainable fish farming. These practices are pushing marine ecosystems to their breaking point. The good news is that we still have a chance to make a difference. By enforcing smarter regulations, using better technology, and making informed choices as consumers, we can create a fishing industry that works well with the environment. If we act now, we can protect the health of our oceans and ensure they continue to provide for generations to come.

To get a glimpse of fish habitats and fishing areas mapped worldwide, use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Essential Fish Habitat tool.

And that is Geography in the News, updated January 31, 2024.

Material in this article comes from “Gone Fishing, or, Who Will Catch the Last One?” (1999), an original article for Geography in the News by Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University. 

Sources Consulted for this Article
Vocabulary and Terms
  • Overfishing: Catching fish faster than they can reproduce.
  • Bycatch: Sea creatures caught accidentally in fishing nets.
  • Bottom trawling: A harmful fishing method where nets are dragged along the ocean floor.
  • Aquaculture: Raising fish in farms for food, also known as fish farming.
  • Fishmeal: A food made from ground-up fish, often used to feed farmed fish.
  • IUU fishing: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing that breaks fishing laws.
  • Marine protected area (MPA): Parts of the ocean where fishing is restricted or banned to protect ecosystems.
  • Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): An organization that certifies seafood as sustainable.
Questions for Discussion and Further Study
  1. What are some of the main environmental issues caused by commercial fishing, and how do they affect marine life?
  2. The article mentions how overfishing impacts local fishing communities and their ability to make a living. How do you think these communities might respond?
  3. Do you believe fish farming could be a solution to overfishing? Why or why not?
  4. What actions can governments, companies, and individuals take to make commercial fishing more sustainable for future generations?
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AAG Staff

Geographies of Resistance: The Anishinaabe in Michigan

Environmental Justice in Detroit: Power and Pollution in the 21st Century

Journals

Franklin, Buenemann Join Annals of the American Association of Geographers as New Editors

Rachel Franklin

Rachel Franklin will take a new position as General Geography/Cross-discipline Editor, and Michaela Buenemann is the incoming Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences Editor at Annals of the American Association of Geographers, effective January 2025. Buenemann will replace outgoing editor David R. Butler.

Franklin is a broadly trained human geographer with research expertise in population and spatial analysis. She is professor of Geographical Analysis at Newcastle University, where she researches spatial demography and spatial inequality. She is also keenly interested in pedagogy, especially the teaching of methods. In addition to her new duties at Annals, she edits the journal, Geographical Analysis. She is a visiting academic in Population Studies at Brown University and at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) in L’Aquila, Italy. She brings to her work at Annals extensive experience as a member of several journal editorial boards, including Population, Space and Place, the Annals, the Journal of Regional Science, and the Journal of Geographical Systems.

One of Franklin’s primary goals is to “work diligently to promote the Annals and maximize its visibility, both within and outside the discipline.” She is especially interested in highlighting the commonalities across sub-fields, finding common ground throughout the discipline.

Michaela BeunemannMichaela Buenemann, incoming editor for Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, is professor and head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at New Mexico State University. Her interdisciplinary, international, and collaborative work features contributions in GIS, remote sensing, spatial modeling, landscape ecology, and biogeography. She has published in a wide range of geography, environmental sciences, and GIScience journals, and her research has been funded by numerous state and federal agencies. In the classroom and field, she teaches an array of courses in physical geography, socio-environmental systems, field methods, geographic information science and technology, and geographic theory and research design. She has contributed to the discipline of geography in various roles, including chair of the Southwest Division of the American Association of Geographers, Southwest Regional Councilor of the American Association of Geographers, and Southwest Regional Councilor of Gamma Theta Upsilon.

Buenemann brings to her editorship the experiences of seven years on the Editorial Board of the Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences thematic area of the Annals. She is currently co-editing an Annals Special Issue on “National Parks and Protected Places” with David Butler and also serves as an Associate Editor for Regional Environmental Change. She earned her Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Oklahoma in 2007.

Photo of David ButlerWe are grateful to David R. Butler, outgoing editor for Physical Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences. Butler is the Regents’ Professor of Geography Emeritus in the Texas State University System and an AAG Fellow. His research interests include geomorphology, biogeography, natural hazards, mountain environments, and environmental change. In 2023, Butler was awarded the AAG Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the discipline.

 

Find out more about The AAG Annals and other AAG journals.

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John Fraser Hart

John Fraser Hart, a towering figure in American geography whose career spanned more than seven decades of active research, teaching, and service to the profession, passed away October 14, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin, at age 100. A meticulous and productive researcher, he authored scores of articles that appeared in the leading journals of geography. Among his books were The Look of the Land (Prentice Hall 1975), The Land that Feeds Us (Norton 1991), and The Changing Scale of American Agriculture (University of Virginia 2003).

Born and raised in southern Virginia and educated at Emory University (A.B. 1943), he returned following his wartime enlistment in the U.S. Navy and enrolled in classes at the University of Georgia in Athens. There he encountered academic geography and was soon recruited into the profession by the department head, Merle Prunty. Hart went on to Northwestern University, earning his Ph.D. in 1950, and also served on the faculty at Georgia.

The research to which he returned time and again over his long career focused on the land and how people used it. His doctoral dissertation, on hill sheep farming in southern Scotland, was a masterpiece of insight and sensitive description. As the years passed, Hart focused his research almost exclusively on the United States and he became increasingly drawn to questions of economic modernization on the farm. He was early to recognize the massive changes that were taking place both in Southern agriculture (“Land Use Change in a Piedmont County,” Annals of the AAG 70(1980) 492-527) and the Corn Belt (“Half a Century of Cropland Change,” Geographical Review 91(2002) 525-543).

He also contributed to national policy debates over the conversion of agricultural land to urban use (“Urban Encroachment on Rural Areas,” Geographical Review 66(1976) 1 – 17). Hart showed that land which went out of agricultural production was actually a surplus in terms of what was needed to maintain farm production. Urban uses were a comparatively less important reason for land conversion. His studies of land use change on the urban fringe typically involved field work and, more often than not, led to lasting acquaintances with the individuals whose farms he studied.

He served on the faculties at Indiana University (1955-1967) and the University of Minnesota (1967-2015) while making prodigious contributions to the American Association of Geographers and to the profession in general. From 1970 through 1980 he was editor of the Annals of the AAG, and regional councilor, vice president, and president of the AAG. In his AAG presidential address, “The Highest Form of the Geographer’s Art” (Annals of the AAG, 72(1982) 1-29, Hart made the case for why regional study has been so important in geography and why it should continue.

Fraser Hart remained a steadfast advocate for geography, geographers, and good scholarship throughout his career. He was a visible, approachable presence at every AAG annual meeting and at West Lakes and Southeast Division meetings until he was past his 90th year. When he retired from the University of Minnesota in 2015, he was the last member of the university’s faculty who had served in World War II.

He was predeceased by his wife, Meredith, and is survived by his children Laird (Kathie) Hart of Washington, D.C., and Anne Hart (Andy van Duym) of Madison, Wisconsin, and by his grandchildren, Dirk and Raina.

This memorial was contributed by Dr. John C. Hudson, professor emeritus of geography, Northwestern University.

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On the Map

Cranberries: A Fine, Finicky Fruit

Cranberries for sale in a basket Credit: Philippe Murray Pietsch, Unsplash
Credit: Philippe Murray Pietsch, Unsplash

Geography In The News logoGeography in the News is an educational series offered by the American Association of Geographers for teachers and students in all subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article. 

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are a big part of the winter holidays. Native to North America, they grow in bogs and wet areas from New England to the upper Midwest and Canada. Some also grow in the Appalachian Mountains. A cousin species, V. oxycoccos, grows in Europe.

Cranberry vines grow best in sandy, organic, acidic soils. They prefer cold winters and cool summers. Massachusetts was once the leading producer, but is now outpaced by Wisconsin. Other states where the berry is grown are New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. In Canada, too, cranberry farms are found in British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

The vines take at least three years to spread and form a mat before bearing fruit. In September, as berries ripen, the farmers flood their fields and use a thrashing machine to scoop berries from the vines. Once they float to the water’s surface, the berries are collected for market.

Cranberry harvest in New Jersey. Source: Agricultural Research Service
Cranberry harvest in New Jersey. Source: Agricultural Research Service

 

Only 5 percent of the berries go to the market fresh. Most are frozen whole, canned, or bottled as juice. Most people buy more cranberry sauce, juice, and even cranberry health supplements than fresh cranberries.

It was not always this way. For centuries, wild-growing cranberries were harvested by the many nations of the Algonquian people who continue to inhabit all of New England and much of the Midwest and Eastern Canada. They call the berry sassamenesh, and harness its power as a superfood. (Cranberries are full of Vitamin C and other nutrients.) One recipe is pemmican, which mixes the berries with dried fish or meat and tallow. Pemmican was the original power bar: it is formed into cakes and baked in the sun. This provides fat, carbs, and nutrients in a form that is easy to carry and store for months.

Demand for Cranberry Grows Fast

For a plant that takes years to bear fruit, the cranberry is otherwise growing fast. Its market expands every year. Cranberries are an important import to other countries, and it is now seen as a food for all year long, particularly for its health benefits. Shoppers have come to expect dried and fresh cranberries in many products, from baked goods to cereal to energy bars. This expansion was driven by a shrewd international marketing strategy from a nearly century-old grower-owned cooperative, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.

Cranberries: The National Cranberry Magazine, 1960, one of Ocean Spray’s many marketing efforts to get more cranberries into kitchens and on tables. Source: Wikimedia
Cranberries: The National Cranberry Magazine, 1960, one of Ocean Spray’s many marketing efforts to get more cranberries into kitchens and on tables. Source: Wikimedia

Ocean Spray began as a small farmers’ cooperative in 1930. By 1988, the company controlled 85 percent of the world’s cranberry market. The key to their success was smart decisions in both marketing and production. Ever eat a “craisin”? This dried version of the fruit was a snacking breakthrough in 1981. By then, Ocean Spray was already famous for its juices. Soon, it was putting cranberries in cereals, energy bars, and desserts.

As demand for cranberries shot upward, competitors got into the game. Private companies made high offers to farmers, hoping to lure them from Ocean Spray. Still, Ocean Spray remains the dominant player, and certainly the most recognizable in the grocery store. It represents about 700 family-owned cranberry farms.

America’s cranberry farmers produce about 8 billion barrels a year. Most come from Wisconsin, which had one of its strongest harvests yet in 2024. It’s almost the perfect place for these unique berries, with plenty of water, sandy soil, and ideal weather. That doesn’t mean they are always a sure thing, however. There is a margin of risk every year. “I like the challenge,” said John Stauner, owner of James Lake Farms in Wisconsin. “It’s a profession where you have a lot of variability throughout the year.”

The weather has always created uncertainty for farmers. Climate change is adding to their worries. In the past decade, Massachusetts bogs experienced flooding from both ocean saltwater and torrential rain, killing some bogs. On the other extreme, a 2022 drought also took a heavy toll on production.

Cranberry bogs are part of the climate solution in New England, too, at least after they have run their course producing the fruit. Although one in four bogs that have gone out of business in Massachusetts, some farmers are using their land for large-scale restoration to protect wildlife and wetlands in the state.

 

 

Some cranberry production has headed overseas since the 1990s. A California company invested $20 million in building cranberry bogs in Chile. The investment has made Chile the third biggest cranberry producer worldwide. The United States remains the world’s top producer.

Some years ago, the geospatial firm Descartes Labs used radar data and algorithmic machine learning to map America’s cranberry bogs. It wasn’t easy: find out how they did it.

The next time someone passes the cranberry sauce or offers you a glass of cranberry juice, tell them a thing or two about this bright berry’s history, geography, growth habits, and economic value.

And that is Geography in the News, updated November 1, 2024.

Material in this article comes from “Cranberries” (1996), an original article for Geography in the News by Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University.

AAG’s Geography in the News is inspired by the series of the same name founded by Neal Lineback, professor and the chair of Appalachian State University’s Department of Geography and Planning. For nearly 30 years from 1986 to 2013, GITN delivered timely explainer articles to educators and students, relevant to topics in the news. Many of these were published on Maps.com’s educational platforms and in National Geographic’s blogs. AAG is pleased to carry on the series.

Sources Consulted for this Article
Vocabulary and Terms
  • Algorithm
  • Appalachia, Appalachian mountains
  • Bog
  • Cooperative
  • Machine learning
  • Pemmican
  • Radar
  • Sassmenesh/sasminash
  • Tallow
Questions for Discussion and Further Study
  1. What kinds of conditions do cranberries need to grow?
    For further study outside of this article: Find out more about the regions and places mentioned in this article. For example, what states make up New England? Do all of them have cranberry bogs? Where are British Columbia and Nova Scotia on a map of Canada? How do we define the Appalachians? How do the climates of these places differ, and how are they similar?
  2. What impact has climate change had on cranberry farming? What impacts can old cranberry farms have on climate change and wetlands?
    For further study outside of this article: What approaches are scientists and farmers taking to protect the cranberry farms, or to convert old farms back to wetland habitat? What scientific tools are they using to measure, track, and address changes they observe?
  3. The Algonquian peoples were the first to use cranberries for health and energy on long journeys. What were the special, portable cakes they made for this purpose, and what ingredients did they use?
    For further study outside of this article: Find out more about the Algonquian peoples and language groups. What are some of the tribes that speak Algonquian languages (which have different names)? See if you can find out where some of these tribes lived before European colonization, and where they are now. Can you find other food or plant names in Algonquian?
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Lisa Schamess
On the Map

Winds of Change

NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA
NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA

Geography In The News logoGeography in the News is an educational series offered by the American Association of Geographers for teachers and students in all subjects. We include vocabulary, discussion, and assignment ideas at the end of each article. 

Powerful Santa Ana winds often make the headlines in Southern California. They have brought traffic to a standstill on freeways, with wind gusts up to 80 mph (129 kph). They create dust storms and deplete the soil. Sometimes the winds are strong enough to topple trucks and blow down trees. Worst of all, they can power wildfires.

Also called “devil winds,” the Santa Ana winds blow down from the Santa Ana mountains, the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. The winds blow across westward across the coast and into the Pacific Ocean. They happen in the deadly dry season of autumn wildfires in Southern California. In October 2023, Santa Ana winds whipped up a small grassland blaze into the devastating Highland Fire. The fire grew from 14 acres to more than 2,400 acres before it was contained a week later.

Santa Anas are katabatic winds. Also called “gravity winds,” they blow out of high-pressure cells in the mountains. They can be any temperature. The bora winds of Italy and Slovenia are cold, while the Santa Ana winds and their cousins in France, mistrals, are usually hot. In Japan, the katabatic wind is called the oroshi. In Switzerland, it is the foehn.

NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA
NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite, launched in 1999, shows the Santa Ana winds blowing over the Pacific. Source: NASA

 

The high-pressure air mass at the heart of a katabatic wind begins over mountains or high plateaus. As dense air rushes outward from the center of the high-pressure area, its weight causes it to hug the ground. Wind velocity increases as gravity draws it toward the lowlands. When the Santa Ana wind descends in elevation, it also heats up through adiabatic warming, as it compresses, with no exchange of heat from the surrounding air. The typical rate of warming is 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 feet (1 C./100 m.) of descent. The Santa Ana winds can be as hot as 100 F by the time they reach sea level.

Katabatic winds are very, very dry, with humidity of less than 10 percent. In California, this adds to their dangers. Their gusts dry out vegetation and disturb loose soil. While many native California plants are adapted to these conditions, non-native grasses and undergrowth are not. This has contributed to fire hazard, along with some forest management practices that were, ironically, meant to stop fires.

An Ill Wind

“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch.”

—Raymond Chandler

The Santa Ana winds are a dramatic player in literature and lore. Their dry, usually hot temperament contributes to an image of Los Angeles as mysterious and sultry, with a hint of menace. Culture critic Mary McNamara compares the winds to living on the surface of Mars. She says, “The Santa Anas are exhausting, and no one does well when they are exhausted.” Writer Joan Didion said, “It is hard for people who have not lived in Los Angeles to realize how radically the Santa Ana figures in the local imagination.” These howling dry winds do seem to define autumn in southern California, buffeting houses and cars and carrying dust and debris. To be fair, they also usher in some of the area’s best surfing waves, and can extend summertime weather at the beach.

Will Climate Change Affect the Winds?

A 2019 study observed that the frequency of Santa Ana winds has decreased in the last twenty years, due to climate shifts. In the early and late parts of the Santa Ana’s season, there are fewer winds than in the 20th century. During the peak from November to January, there hasn’t been much change.

Southern California Santa Anas photographed from space. Source: NASA
Southern California Santa Anas photographed from space. Source: NASA

Since that first study, the authors have discovered a cold version of the Santa Ana winds that forms differently and has less threat for wildfires. Either type, hot or cold, is associated with temperature extremes in the region. Southern California’s hottest and coldest days have been when these winds happen. Yet the cold type has become much less frequent since the 1940s.  “In that case,” says the study’s lead author Alexander Gershunov. “We’re not seeing any positive news in terms of future wildfire seasons.” Gershunov and his co-researchers hope that their work can contribute to early-warning systems for the hot winds to come.

And that is Geography in the News, updated November 1, 2024.

Material in this article comes from “How an Ill Wind Blows” (1996), an original article for Geography in the News by Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University.

AAG’s Geography in the News is inspired by the series of the same name founded by Neal Lineback, professor and the chair of Appalachian State University’s Department of Geography and Planning. For nearly 30 years from 1986 to 2013, GITN delivered timely explainer articles to educators and students, relevant to topics in the news. Many of these were published on Maps.com’s educational platforms and in National Geographic’s blogs. AAG is pleased to carry on the series.

Sources Consulted for this Article
Vocabulary and Terms
  • Adiabatic warming
  • Bora
  • Elevation
  • Froehn
  • Humidity
  • Intensify
  • Katabatic winds
  • Lowlands
  • Mistral
  • Plateau
  • Velocity
Questions for Discussion and Further Study
  1. What geographic feature are the Santa Ana winds znamed for? What type of wind are they?
    For further study outside of this article: How much can you discover about katabatic winds?
  2. How does NASA’s QuickSCAT radar scatterometer get information about wind and ocean currents?
    For further study outside of this article: What kind of tools and techniques do geographers, meteorologists, oceanographers, and other earth and space scientists use to measure and track winds?
  3. Apart from the Santa Ana winds, what are some of the other conditions and environmental elements that can aggravate wildfires?
    For further study outside of this article: What techniques, new and old, are used to control wildfires?
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Lisa Schamess
Lisa Schamess

John (Jack) Ives

October 15, 1931-September 15, 2024

The mountain geography community mourns the passing of one of its most significant exponents, the bearer of a monumental scientific world in favor of mountain research and development worldwide. Jack D. Ives died on September 15, 2024, at age 93.

As academicians Vladimir Kotlyakov and Yuri Badenkov (2024) indicated, “Professor Jack Ives is a living legend of mountain geography in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. His name is well known not only among scientists, politicians, public figures, but the inhabitants of many mountain settlements of the world, from the Himalaya and Pamir to the Andes and European Alps, from Scotland and the Caucasus to Iceland and China.” In 2015, Bruno Messerli said that Jack “devoted his life not only to mountain research, but also to mountain development, on behalf of the people and communities living in mountain areas.” He drew attention to the plight of indigenous peoples living in mountainous regions and advocated for their inclusion in policy-making processes concerning their lands and resources. His work went beyond academia, influencing international policy on the livelihoods and rights of mountain people.

Jack Ives’ long-term work at the International Geographical Union has played an important role in shaping the global discourse on mountain environments. In 1972 he took over the chairmanship of the Commission on High Altitude Geoecology from then-president Carl Troll, who had established the Commission during the 1968 International Geographical Conference in New Delhi. Jack then alternated with his colleague Bruno Messerli until 1996. This role drew him increasingly into mountain studies. He left an indelible mark within the IGU, in promoting geographical research on mountains and sustainable development. Under his leadership, the Commission focused on interdisciplinary research and worked to improve global understanding of the importance of mountain ecosystems. In this context, in the 1970s Ives became particularly interested in environmental issues in the Himalayas. The increasing international focus on environmental degradation in mountainous regions, such as deforestation, soil erosion and the impact on local communities, led him to advocate for sustainable mountain development. His 1989 book The Himalayan Dilemma: Reconciling Development and Conservation, co-authored with colleague Bruno Messerli, challenged the prevailing understanding of environmental degradation in the Himalayas and changed the trajectory of conservation policy in the region. This work marked a turning point in mountain research and policy and established Ives as a leading figure in the advocacy of mountain sustainability. He played an important role in making mountains a key element in global environmental policy, especially at the Earth Summit in 1992. He was instrumental in shaping the globally recognized “Mountain Agenda” for UNCED at Rio. This agenda called for greater attention to mountain ecosystems and their importance for biodiversity, water resources and human livelihoods. His efforts helped to establish the concept of “sustainable mountain development”, which remains a guiding principle in the field today. Since then, his leadership brought mountain issues to the forefront of the global environmental agenda.

His name is linked to the creation of the International Mountain Society (IMS) and the leading journals of the discipline: Mountain Research and Development, and Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. He developed “Project 6 (Mountains) of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere” on “Human Impacts on Mountain Ecosystems” with Bruno Messerli and were key in catalyzing a group of mountain geographers into what he called amicably “the Mountain Mafia” as the movers-and-shakers for the advocacy that culminated incorporating Chapter 13 (Mountains) within the United Nations’ agenda for sustainable development (Agenda 21). They also coedited a book considered by most mountain geographers as the “bible” for mountain studies at the global level in 1997. Mountains of the World: A Global Priority became the framework to start conservation projects, academic projects and international organizations in favor of mountains. The book was translated to many languages with regional appeals. They were also key in formulating the UN-declared 2002 as the “International Year of Mountains” and thereafter November 11th, as “International Mountain Day.”

Jack D. Ives’ numerous studies and pioneering initiatives with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Mountain Agenda including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ICIMOD, and FAO have been instrumental in shaping international policy on mountain conservation, and his work within the IGU has helped to raise awareness of the academic importance of mountains in global development agendas, drawing attention to the unique challenges facing mountain ecosystems and communities worldwide. He has been honored with many awards, including the King Albert I Gold Medal (2002), the Royal Geographical Society Patron’s Medal (2006), the Icelandic Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Falcon (2007), and two separate Distinguished Career Awards from the Association of American Geographers. The inaugural Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Heritage Medal Lifetime Achievement Award (2015) was presented to him to recognize lifetime achievement in mountain research and development.

Presentation of 2015 Lifetime Achievement edition of the Hillary Medal, October 29, 2015. L to R: Pauline Ives, Jack Ives, Simon Tucker, New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada, Kali Prasad Pokhrel, ambassador of Nepal to Canada.

He received the Honorary Membership to the Commission of Mountain Studies with a diploma conferred at the 35th International Geographical Congress in Dublin, Ireland just this past summer in 2024, recognizing his fertile and restless work on mountain research and studies. The Diploma, decorated with a gaze from Alexander von Humboldt (Jack’s inspiration) recognizes his pioneering spirit and fruitful work, which will continue to illuminate the path for future montology.

Jack had been the one to suggest the laying of a bronze plaque honoring Humboldt as “the father of Montology” on a cairn at the snowline of Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador, in December 1998 after the III International Symposium of the Andean Mountains Association (AMA). Indigenous community members, along with Christoph Stadel, Larry Hamilton, Maximina Monasterio, Robert Rhoades, Fausto Sarmiento, the Chimborazo Fauna Reserve administrators, and others, shared in Jack’s admonition that could well be the corollary of his monumental and passionate lifelong advocacy: “For a better balance between mountain environment, development of resources, and the well-being of mountain peoples.”

Colleagues and those who worked closely with him often emphasized his generosity, both in terms of his time and his willingness to mentor and support young mountain geographers. They also admired his ability to blend scientific research with activism as he sought to bring practical, policy-oriented solutions to the environmental problems he studied. It is comforting to know that many of his students, following the exemplary work of this giant, helped to cement transdisciplinary mountain research and study, becoming themselves champions of mountain geography works. Many of them are already retired from teaching, but proudly continue Ives’ model inspiring mountain lore contributing effectively to enrich the genealogy of montology with their emeritus wisdom. After Ives’ retirement, as scholarly recognition of brilliant mentors in academia, a Festschrift was published in his honor (Mainali & Sicroff, 2016) with an apropos title: Montologist.

Now that the discipline of Montology has been firmly positioned as the transdisciplinary mountain research and study, the image of Jack D. Ives will be forever reflected in the deep understanding of mountains as socioecological systems, where consilience and convergence favor decolonized scholarship of mountains, integrating the local knowledge and making real the critical biogeography and political ecology of the many dilemmas that still pervade militarized, marginalized, and exploited mountain communities in the world’s mountainscapes (Sarmiento 2020).  It is with a heavy heart that the Commission of Mountain Studies of the International Geographical Union received the news of his passing, but it is with a hopeful spirit to commit maintaining Jack D. Ives’ lofty goals for the mountains alive and well!

 

References

Kotlyakov V.M., Badenkov Y.P. (eds). 2024. “History and evolution of the UNESCO MAB-6 mountain project human impact on mountain ecosystems: From ecology to montology.” Preface by Jack D. Ives to the book. Mountain Regions of Russia at the Turn of the Century: Research and Development. Problems of Geography Series, volume 158. Moscow: Media Press.

Mainali K, Sicroff S (eds). 2016. Jack D. Ives, Montologist: Festschrift for a Mountain Advocate. Himalayan Association for the Advancement of Science. pp. 94–97. ISBN 978-9937-0-1567-7.

Sarmiento, F.O.  2020. Montology Manifesto: echoes towards a transdisciplinary science of mountains. Journal of Mountain Science, 17(10): 2512-2527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-019-5536-2.

This memorial was prepared by Fausto Sarmiento, Professor of Geography and Director of the Neotropical Montology Collaboratory at the University of Georgia; Neslihan Dal, Lecturer, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University; Alexey Gunya, Professor of Geography at the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Christoph Stadel, Emeritus Professor of Geography, at the University of Salzburg.

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